Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2011-02-18 10:22
Another excellent thread, the full moon must be inspiring people!
Paula, I'm also struggling with endurance when, 15 years ago, I could play for 8 hours a day. We should keep in touch and compare notes, so to speak.
Strangely I have found that long tones don't help me for endurance, and reed exercises even less. I found that my best endurance has always been when I play something enjoyable for 15 minutes, short break, long-tones and technique, short break, then practice as needed.
As with others in the thread, I thoroughly disbelieve that good sounding reeds must be hard as steel, but they should show some springyness. The reason wider reeds require more mouth strength is simply that the "wider arc-string" (I forgot my geometry vocabulary) makes a taller arc and therefore a more open reed. They usually "give in" more easily though, so if your lips are firm (I didn't say bite!), then compensation is easy enough.
Best of luck!
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
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